St. Andrews- The Home of Golf

Golf has been played here since the 15th century, with the Golf Club being founded in 1754. They have 7 golf courses with the largest public complex in Europe. Today the green fees range from 8-170 British Sterling depending on the season and course.




Appropriate dress, nothing scruffy or holey is allowed. Business casual is the word.

Looking the other direction now towards 18th hole

Birdseye view of the OLD Course surrounded on all sides by ocean. It is very scenic.

Not your favorite place to be.

Can you see the swans?

St. Andrews Cathedral

Mary King Close

Edinburgh is built on the spine of rock. There were a series of lanes and dwellings that grew out of this long street that fell away to either side. Old town made these residences on CLOSES. So a Close was named after the most prominent citizen or resident on the Close.

In the 1630, Mary King Close was a widow and mother of 4 children. She traded fabrics and sewed to make a living. She was highly regarded to have a Close named after her as women did not normally receive this acclaim.

The Closes are now underground. Closes were at the heart of Edinburgh busiest streets. So how 400 years later are they underground?

There are tales of murder, ghosts and 300 plague victims being walled up to die that are waiting to be told.




No pictures were allowed because the government buildings are above the close.



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Tour guides in period costumes.


When people were being treated from the plague the doctor would wear an oil cloth to protect him and the beak nose mask was filled with sweet smelling herbs believed to keep the evil spirit of the plague away. From most historical accounts, it did work. There is no accurate death toll from the plague in Edinburgh in 1645. In Leith which is like a suburb over 3,000 people died which was roughly 50% of their population. Edinburgh has a population of 35,000 at that same time period.

Royal Botanic Garden

This was originally founded in 1670 to grow medicinal plants and went hand in hand with their medical school.

Currently The Royal Botanic Garden comprises 70 acres. It has been in it's present area since 1820. It's purpose is for the scientific study of plants and their diversity and conversation. They work with countries throughout the world to keep species alive. They have 3 million preserved specimens and 13,302 living species.

Enjoy the beautiful scenes.

These pine cones are on the branches, not at the end of the needles.

There were still some flowers blooming. These are called Doll Eyes because each of the white berries has a black dot on it.

This was our guide. They won't know the age of the tree until they have to cut it down. It was there when they moved there.

Did you know they have autumn crocus?

The Rock Garden area.

Scottish shrubs and trees.

They are thinking that this might be a plant that has the potential of taking over the flower bed. In the fall it dies down to the roots and then will grow tall to 10 feet in the summer. 

Close up of the limbs of the trees above. They are very prickly.

A wonderful ending to a beautiful day. We will have to return and see the Queen's Garden.

Edinburgh Zoo

Right in Edinburgh next to Motels and single dwellings, sits the most amazing zoo. IT is 82 acres!

 The penguins can control the amount of blood to their extremities, thus decreasing the amount of blood exposed to cold.

They would race from one end of the pool to the other in a group. They can travel 25mph.

Most penguins are in the southern hemisphere, Antartica to be exact. 

The males (those with the orange around the neck) huddle together to keep warm in the winter while the females are out fishing. Most of the temperature loss is in the water.Don't you love their feet?

The next most interesting was the Pandas. They are on loan from China for 10 years. We have received a male and a female. As of yet there are no wee pandas. They arrived on a special Panda Express with Federal Express. Don't they look comfortable? They were welcomed in Edinburgh with a special bagpipe band.

When the female gets pregnant she can defer implantation for weeks. I wonder how she decides? Well, it is a physical thing that her body does actually. She only has 24-36 hours every year when pregnancy could be possible. No wonder they are an endangered species. Gestation is 95-160 days. When the baby panda is born it is so tiny--6-7 inches in length and 3.5-7 oz. Will let you know if any wee ones happen here.



MEERKATS are prevalent in South Africa, Namibia and Angola. They live underground in burrows and this is the look out that is always present when the family is outside. The family may be anywhere from 20-50 meerkats.

How can these Flamingos be perfectly balanced on only one leg?

These koala bears don't look alive, yet they are.

The pelicans were at the end of the road and they were as tired as we were.